Tru2way heads north to Vidéotron

Samsung Electronics and Vidéotron announced today that they’ve entered into a definitive agreement that marks the first deployment of tru2way in Canada.

As part of the agreement, Vidéotron will use Samsung’s HD, multi-room DVR box with tru2way. Vidéotron didn’t provide many details about its tru2way plans, other than it will support the company’s illico digital TV service, and that the Samsung boxes will be available through Vidéotron’s retail network.

"We are committed to meeting growing consumer needs for personalized media by offering tru2way-enabled devices," said Daniel Proulx, senior vice president of engineering at Vidéotron. “A strong collaboration between Vidéotron and Samsung will result in an interoperable and more abundant home entertainment service."

While Vidéotron is gearing up for tru2way, Rogers Communications’ Dermot O’Carroll, senior vice president of engineering and network operations, said his company is looking for alternatives to tru2way during the opening session at the SCTE Cable-Tec Expo in October.

In July, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks signed a letter of commitment with Samsung for the continued development, purchase and deployment of Samsung’s tru2way-enabled set-top boxes. The new agreement also covered Time Warner Cable’s first second-source DVR.

As of July, Time Warner Cable had deployed more than 2 million tru2way boxes, which include 400,000 boxes from Samsung. Time Warner also conducted a trial several years ago with a tru2way TV from Samsung.